New York Travel Guide

What to see in Manhattan

When people think of New York City, Manhattan is often the first place they picture. Over many decades, Manhattan has become a metropolis of colour, culture, diversity and architecture. Throughout the 19th century, it grew rapidly thanks to the city's economic upturn and rise in immigration, both of which helped to establish New York as a diverse, ever-evolving cultural hotspot.

Manhattan is home to many world-famous landmarks that that attract visitors from all over the world. Even the street names are iconic – think Wall Street, Madison Avenue, 42nd Street, Broadway and more! Couple all this with the world's brightest theater district, some of the tallest high-rise buildings you will ever see, and you could spend a week on this tiny island and still not see everything!

How to get around Manhattan

Manhattan is divided into 3 sections: Downtown, Midtown and Uptown, each with their own distinct feel. Most of the island is laid out in a grid pattern, meaning it's easy to find your way around. Avenues run north to south and streets are east to west. Fifth Avenue separates the east and west sides, with street numbers increasing as you head away from Fifth.

Grand Central Station

If Manhattan is the heart of New York then Grand Central station is the heart of Manhattan. You could spend a whole day in Grand Central Station, there is that much to do there, with everything from shops, historic landmarks, bars, a food hall, tennis courts and of course trains! Keep an eye out for station's world famous clock, which is estimated to be worth between 10 and 20 million dollars! It's one of Grand Central Station's most iconic features, appearing in many movies – it's got quite the celebrity status.

Grand Central Market

Staying within the station and featuring 13 local vendors of fresh produce, gourmet ingredients and treats, the Grand Central Market is a vast European-style food market. The market hosts around 10,000 visitors per day! It's open daily too, and we can think of worse places to wait for your next train!

The Whispering Gallery

If you happen to come across people facing the wall and muttering to themselves, don't be alarmed, you've just discovered the Whispering Gallery! Located just outside the main concourse on the way to the food court, the design of the arched walls creates a fascinating acoustic phenomenon - if you say something in one corner, someone standing in the opposite corner will hear you loud and clear.

Chelsea Market

Traversing the length of the High Line will work up quite an appetite, but thankfully just a short walk away is Chelsea Market, known as one of the greatest food markets in the world and aptly located in the Meatpacking District at 75 Ninth Avenue. Once the home of the National Biscuit Company that was served by the trains on the High Line, it now has more than 35 different vendors selling delicious food items. Not only that, it also attracts fashionistas looking through the vintage flea market style stalls that are also based here.

Central Park

Central Park offers a blissful sanctuary to appreciate trees, grass and open space, a real contrast to the rest of Manhattan. It covers around 3.5 square miles and stretches across 843 acres of land. To put that in perspective, it's almost six times larger than the city of Monaco! It's featured in more than 350 films and visited by around 40 million people a year.

A great place to view the park is from the top of the Met museum. The Cantor Rooftop Garden Bar is open during the warmer months and offers unique views of the city over the treetops. You'll have to buy a ticket to the museum to get access to the bar, but with some of the most incredible exhibitions in the world on offer, it's well worth the cost. Just be aware you'll need to reserve a timeslot to visit the Met online if you do want to go.

Times Square

Whether you're visiting for the first time or the hundredth, no trip to Manhattan is complete without venturing to Times Square. Originally called Longacre Square, Times Square takes its name from the New York Times headquarters, which moved to 1 Times Square in 1904. Nowadays 1 Times Square is now mostly empty, but it holds the New Year's Eve ball and a wall of billboards that generates over $23 million per year!

On New Year's Eve, close to a million people congregate to celebrate the 'Dropping of the Ball'.

It may be one of the world's most visited tourist attractions, seeing about 50 million visitors every year, but it's still a must when in New York.

Broadway

Just around the corner from Times Square is Broadway - New York's answer to London's West End. Broadway actually runs for a whopping 33 miles, 18 of which aren't even within the city limits! It begins from Lower Manhattan at Bowling Green, runs north to the Bronx and then all the way to Albany.

There are 41 Broadway Theatres in New York but despite the title, only 4 theatres are actually located on Broadway Street: The Winter Garden, The Roundabout, The Marquis, and The Broadway Theatre. In order to qualify as a Broadway theatre, it must have 500 seats and must be located between 40th Street and 54th Street, and from west of 6th Avenue to East of Eighth Avenue, including Times Square. Theatres that don't quite fulfil these qualifications are often referred to as off-Broadway.

Where to visit outside of Manhattan

Manhattan warrants a travel guide all to itself, but we wanted to see as much of New York as possible, which meant exploring the other boroughs. Starting with Queens…

Queens

Queens is the largest and one of the most diverse of all the five boroughs of New York City. But if you talk to almost anyone in Queens, the first thing that gets mentioned is the food! If you're interested in exploring the culinary world all in one place, head to Roosevelt Avenue, with more than 100 blocks' worth of eateries from around the globe.

Brooklyn

Brooklyn sits just east of Manhattan, across the river. Our highlight from Brooklyn was an area called Dumbo, which stands for "Down Under Manhattan Bridge Overpass". It has a similar feel to London's Shoreditch. Originally an industrial neighbourhood, it's become popular with free-thinkers and influencers heading there to get that perfect Instagram shot. This alone makes it a great destination for people-watching, especially on Washington Street. Plus there are cracking views of the Manhattan skyline from the other side of the river. If you time your visit right you can catch a pretty stunning sunset too.

To get to Dumbo you can take the F train to York Street or the A or C to High Street. There's also the New York City ferry that connects Manhattan to New York.

The Bronx

The Bronx is situated right above Manhattan. One of the most vibrant areas of the city, this is the birthplace of hip hop, with artists such as Grandmaster Flash and DJ Kool starting their careers here. But while the the Bronx is famous for its music scene, it also happens to be the greenest borough of New York. Central Park might grab the headlines, but Pelham Bay Park is actually the largest park in the city – it's three times the size of Central Park to be exact. If you're a nature lover, then a trip to the Bronx is a must as a hefty 25 percent of the land is park space!

Staten Island

Staten Island is the southernmost of New York's 5 boroughs, which you can reach from Lower Manhattan via the Staten Island Ferry. The ferry runs across New York Harbour and is completely free to everyone! Of all the boroughs, it definitely has the most residential feel to it. Make sure to visit the zoo and botanical gardens or simply catch the ferry to get great views of Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty. It departs from Whitehall Terminal Manhattan and runs every 30 minutes.